Chargers Find Right Lightning : First-Half Strikes, Defense Overwhelm Seahawks, 17-6
Bring on the Colts.
After four weeks of frustration against teams with a combined record of 13-5, the Chargers picked on someone with similar problems Sunday and ripped the Seattle Seahawks, 17-6, in front of 36,783 fans in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.
“I’m ready to celebrate,” Charger linebacker Gary Plummer said. “It really feels good just to know that you can win.”
There were yuks all around a Charger locker room that has taken on a morgue-like atmosphere in recent weeks.
“I guaranteed a victory,” said Charger defensive end Burt Grossman. “You just didn’t hear me.”
The Chargers (1-4) ended a 10-quarter touchdown drought and scored 17 points in the first half, which is more than they have scored in a game since defeating Miami 38-30 on Dec. 15 last season.
Quarterback Stan Humphries took advantage of single coverage on wide receiver Anthony Miller and completed a 67-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead. It was the longest Charger pass play since Jim McMahon went 69 yards to Miller on Nov. 5, 1989, against Philadelphia.
It was the end of the day for the Seahawks, and 12:24 remained in the opening quarter.
“I was ready to go to Ronnie Harmon, but they were covering him and trying to take him away from us today,” said Humphries, who heaved a football into the stands in celebration after the game. “I saw the press coverage on Anthony and just laid it out and let him run under it.
“That gave us a lot of momentum. We’ve been looking for that in the games we’ve played, but they haven’t been giving it to us. When we got it, I think it lifted the whole team.”
Miller earlier returned to the huddle after being confronted by tight man-to-man coverage off the line of scrimmage and advised Humphries to keep an eye on him.
“I wanted him to throw it to me the first time but he didn’t,” Miller said. “But he was more alert after I mentioned it to him, and when it came up on the next play, he threw it and laid it out there for me.”
Miller left Seattle cornerback Patrick Hunter behind as he raced off to score his first touchdown of the season.
“That was good because we hadn’t scored a touchdown in so long, and Anthony hadn’t scored and the offense hadn’t had a big play,” Grossman said. “We got that knocked out of the way all on one play, and if we hadn’t scored again, we would have beat them 7-6.”
The Chargers did score again. John Carney whacked a 49-yard field goal for a 10-0 first-quarter lead, and then after Seattle’s John Kasay replied with a 27-yard field goal, the Chargers piled it on.
Cornerback Tony Blaylock stepped in front of a Dan McGwire pass intended for Louis Clark at the Seattle 31-yard line with 2:21 remaining in the half.
“I had studied film and I had a feeling it was coming,” Blaylock said. “It was the only play they hadn’t used that I had seen on film. It was just a film study play.”
The Chargers’ offense stutter-stepped and finally stumbled forward to the five-yard line with no time outs remaining and 18 seconds left in the half. Humphries stepped back and, under pressure, threw a high and outside fastball in the general direction of Miller, who was shadowed by Hunter.
“I heard he made a great catch,” Humphries said. “I never saw it.”
Miller made the tough catch and landed in the end zone for his second touchdown. He went on to finish the game with nine receptions--tying a career high against Cincinnati, Sept. 16, 1990--for 142 yards.
It was his first 100-yard game since Nov. 10, 1991, against Seattle, and the 10th of his career.
“They loaded up on us; they brought the whole student body and put them on the line of scrimmage,” said Charger guard David Richards. “That was the big play, that was the one we were looking for.
“They wanted to play an eight-man front and stop our running game with everybody up there. Fine, if you want to play man coverage on one of the fastest guys in the league, go ahead, and watch him go. It’s something we have been waiting to happen. We knew it was coming.”
Miller said it was the first time this season a team has failed to respect his game-breaking abilities, and he said he was most appreciative.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, were left to wonder once again what hit them.
“It’s hard to find the words to tell you how I feel right now,” Seattle Coach Tom Flores said. “I knew it would be a tough game coming in. At this point I’m very emotional about where we are; I’m very disappointed.”
The Seahawks’ anemic offense suffered another setback in the second quarter when it lost quarterback Kelly Stouffer, first with a bent knee brace, and then a short time later with a shoulder injury.
The Seahawks, trailing 10-0 at the time, had moved to the Chargers’ 11-yard line when Stouffer was forced to the sideline for repairs on his knee brace. Former San Diego State quarterback Dan McGwire stepped in, and the Seahawks gained one yard on three plays. They settled for Kasay’s field goal.
Stouffer returned for the Seahawks’ next drive but was pinned to the turf by Charger defensive end Leslie O’Neal for a seven-yard loss. Stouffer was helped from the field, and never returned.
“I don’t think they were used to McGwire in there,” Charger linebacker Junior Seau said. “They were more comfortable with the first-string quarterback and our guys did a great job of putting pressure on. Everything worked out well.”
The Seahawks appeared punchless with McGwire at the controls. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 70 yards with three interceptions and was sacked three times.
Seattle moved to the Chargers’ 10-yard line in the third quarter on Chris Warren’s 52-yard run, but the Seahawks were forced to settle for a Kasay 29-yard field goal.
“I’m very happy to be sitting in here talking to you about a win,” Coach Bobby Ross said after recording his first NFL victory. “It just makes us 1-4, but I’m happy to get it. Quite honestly, very relieved, too.”
The Chargers failed to score in the second half, but they dominated the Seahawks with 299-180 in total yards. The Chargers limited the Seahawks to 70 net yards passing, the lowest total since Oct. 14, 1990, when the Chargers held the Jets to 53 net passing yards.
“This is good; it sends us into the bye week with a positive attitude,” Richards said. “We played four tough teams before this game and those teams continued on winning after we played them. This was one we really needed. It ends this part of the season on a good note.”
The Chargers take a week off, and then return to play two of their next three games against the Indianapolis Colts.
“This win was something this team, this whole community needed desperately,” said defensive tackle Blaise Winter. “And it feels great. Now that we know what it feels like, we have to hold onto it and not let it go.”
